Imagery of the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' was a popular decorative theme on scholar's objects of the late Ming to early Qing period. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, or the Seven Worthies, was a group of distinguished scholar-officials of the late 3rd century who lived in the seclusion of a bamboo grove for the enjoyment of music, wine, poetry and literary composition. Their literary pursuits away from the world of official responsibilities became a prevalent theme from the late Ming period onward.